At the end of april, workers at Coca-Cola HBC Eurasia in Barnaul in Siberia, Russia, formed a new trade union organisation. Its chairman became Alexei Simon, working already many years in the company as market development agent.

More than 100 workers from different departments of ZAO "Multon", one the subsidiaries of Coca-Cola Hellenic in Russia, have united into a union. The new union local joined the St. Petersburg regional organisation of the Agro-Industrial Workers Union of Russia (AIWU).

Although Coca-Cola, and the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in particular, declare their readiness to observe trade union rights, the formation of new union locals still sometimes meets difficulties due to local managements hostility. But this can be stopped.